Mozambique’s President, Filipe Nyusi taking oath of office |
By Manue
Mucari, MAPUTO Mozambique
Mozambique’s
President, Filipe Nyusi, was sworn in on Wednesday at a ceremony attended by
cheering supporters and dignitaries, but boycotted by opposition politicians
who dispute his October election win as fraudulent.
After a civil war that killed around 1 million
people before a 1992 truce, and periodic violence since, Nyusi signed a deal
with rebels-turned-opposition party Renamo in August meant to bring definitive
peace to a country on the cusp of becoming a global gas exporter.
Instead, October’s election exacerbated decades-old
wounds: Nyusi, of the ruling Frelimo party, won with over 70% of votes but his
main rival Ossufo Momade said the poll was rigged.
Neither Momade nor any Renamo lawmakers turned up
for the swearing-in at Independence Square in central Maputo.
Speaking after the ceremony, Nyusi said over his
next five-year term he would seek to ensure peace lasts. “Peace has been and
will be our absolute priority,” he told the crowd.
Renamo secretary general Andre Magibire told
Reuters the party does not recognize Nyusi as legitimate leader, but would also
not be drawn back into violence.
“There’s no way we can derail the peace deal, even
though Frelimo keeps pushing us toward war,” he said on Tuesday.
Frelimo spokesman Caifadine Manasse dismissed that.
“The opposition is crying foul, in general it uses
this tactic to spark instability,” the spokesman said.
Mozambique’s President, Filipe Nyusi in a group picture with new Members of Parliament |
Renamo is fracturing. A breakaway group of former
fighters have been staging attacks in former heartlands.
This low-level fighting threatens to draw resources
away from efforts to tackle a festering Islamist insurgency in the north, on
the doorstep of blockbuster gas projects led by Exxon and Total.
Mozambique’s top court dismissed Renamo’s challenge
against the results in November.
While analysts say the August peace deal is likely
to survive, its implementation has stalled amid infighting, with even some in
Renamo’s political wing believing the party has backed down too easily. Some
are agitating for protests or even violence, said a party lawmaker who asked
not to be named, though he added there was still party discipline.
After such a wipe-out in the official election
result, Momade’s time as party leader seems limited, said Alex Vines, head of
Africa program at the Chatham House think-tank.
Contenders for the job would include an “ambitious
bunch” from a faction of Renamo’s political wing, some of whom have been
accused of encouraging attacks from the former fighters, he said.
Momade’s relationship with Nyusi was central to
sealing the peace pact, and his leadership remains important for the ongoing
process, Vines said. But the group of disgruntled former fighters - and some
Maputo-based politicians - want him to resign. - Africa
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